Residents in northern Strathcona County who evacuated their homes a result of widespread wildfires have returned home.

Since May 12, a blaze in the area of Township Road 564 and Range Road 211has torn through more than 600 hectares of rural land. However, on Wednesday, Fortis Alberta managed to restore electricity to evacuated homes in the area.

“They’ve got the area... re-energized, and people are back in their homes,” Strathcona County deputy fire chief Bob Scott said on Wednesday afternoon.

“Right now, they’re working on repairing all the infrastructure that was damaged in the fire — poles and things like that.”

While the fire has been contained, 14 firefighters and seven support staff remain on scene, along with four brush trucks and water supply tankers, two dozers and helicopter support.

“The wind’s picking up right now and the wind has changed direction on us,” Scott said around 2:15 p.m., referring to it as “a drying wind.”

“It’s not the kind of wind we want to see.”

Flare-ups and hot spots are still within the already-burnt area, Scott confirmed, noting the fire has not spread since Monday.

“We’re still able to hold the fire. Our concern is that if these hot spots flare up high enough, they could actually jump.”

Rain is expected in the early hours of Thursday morning, between 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., which Scott said will dictate how efforts move forward, although he noted, “we could see ourselves here through the weekend.”

No definitive cause for the fire has been determined, although fire investigators have confirmed there was no natural cause.

“We don’t know exactly what (the human cause) would be — whether it be a discarded cigarette butt or if it was a spark from the exhaust of an ATV. We just don’t know,” Scott said, adding the area of origin has also been determined.

Strathcona County’s fire advisory remains in effect, and is expected not to be lifted until after the May long weekend. While covered fire pits are allows, no open burning or fireworks are permitted.

“Even with the (rain) coming in tomorrow, don’t be fooled by it,” Scott said. “Just because it’s cooler, more humid and rainier, that doesn’t necessarily mean conditions have changed enough for us to take the fire advisory off.”